DANBURY -- The partnership between Danbury and federal immigration officials that divided city residents and led to mass protests ended quietly last month when federal government canceled the program.

The program, dubbed 287g, gave the Danbury Police Department access to a federal immigration database and training for two detectives who were deputized to enforce federal immigration law.

Hundreds of immigrants and their supporters descended on City Hall in February 2008 when the Common Council voted in favor of the partnership.

At the time, members of the immigrant community feared massive raids that would lead to scores of undocumented workers being deported from the country.

According to an official with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, the police department identified 14 people for deportation during the fiscal year 2011, while four illegal immigrants were identified for deportation during fiscal 2012.

City officials said the program, despite the early controversy, was worth the effort, while members of the immigrant community said it damaged their relationship with the police department.

He said undocumented workers were afraid to report crimes, especially domestic violence, or cooperate as witnesses in criminal investigations.

"They didn't want to report a crime because they were afraid members of their family would be deported," Hernandez said.

Police Chief Al Baker said he preferred the partnership to Secure Communities, the program that has replaced it because it allowed for a "human element."

Secure Communities, which is active nationwide, automatically runs the fingerprints of arrestees through a federal immigration database.

While the 287g program also provided database access, it was a voluntary program that included federal training for two local detectives deputized to enforce immigration laws.

Baker said while they got some "dangerous criminals" off the streets through 287g, situations arose where local detectives involved in the program could intercede.

"There were times when immigration (agents) were going to make an arrest that would have created family hardships and our guys intervened to prevent that," Baker said. "The program got a bad name from the beginning, but through the years it was demonstrated that it was used very judiciously to support criminal investigations."

While officials said there was a lot of misinformation during the early days of the program, which was focused on removing violent criminals and habitual offenders of immigration law, Hernandez said immigrants had every right to be concerned. Just a few years earlier, he said, local police assisted federal agents in arresting nearly a dozen immigrants, dubbed the "Danbury 11," during a raid at Kennedy Park on Sept. 19, 2006.

Boughton, however, said, "I got a lot of positive feedback about the partnership from the undocumented community."

He said undocumented workers often would tell police officers about other illegal immigrants who were involved in criminal behavior. Boughton said immigrants have more to fear from Secure Communities than 287g.

"We are going to see more collateral arrests," he said.

Council minority leader Tom Saadi, who voted in favor of the partnership in 2008, said he would still support 287g.

"There weren't the mass roundups or the breaking down of doors that people feared," he said, adding the controversy led to better communication between community groups, immigrants and politicians. "Sometimes disputes and agreements can bring people together as friends."